Текст книги "Sunset Rising"

Автор книги: S. McEachern

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

Chapter Eight

Leisel’s apartment was luxurious, and I had never felt more out of place. She led me through to her bathroom and gave me a warm, plush towel. When she left, I disrobed and stepped into the shower. The set water temperature felt hot, but its warmth helped to relax my tense muscles. I scrubbed myself from head to toe then reluctantly turned the water off.

I put on the clean bathrobe Leisel had laid out for me. Its silky softness felt light against my skin after wearing Jack’s rough terry-towel robe.

Leisel sighed when I emerged from the bathroom. “You look much better. How are you feeling?”

“Scared to death. But I know I’m doing the right thing helping you, so I’ll get over it.”

“You’re so brave, Sunny. What you’re doing for me is huge.” She walked over to me and took both my hands in hers. “I’ll never forget it. Now, let’s get to work! I’ve told everyone I’d rather get ready alone, so no one is going to disturb us. And I’ve already ordered up food. We only have a few hours.”

The morning passed more quickly than I would have liked. Leisel started by combing my wet hair into a tight bun at the base of my neck and then fitting a wig—an exact replica of her own hair—over my head. She tweezed my eyebrows to make them look more like her own. Then she applied makeup on my face in exactly the way she wore it. When she finished, she turned me around so I could look in the mirror. I was amazed at what she had achieved. My face was thinner than hers and my eyes had the large, black pupils so common among people from the Pit, but we would look the same from a distance.

“With a veil over your face, no one will know it’s not me.” Leisel looked pleased with herself. “Only an hour left before my entourage picks me up to escort me down to the wedding. Get a bite to eat, and then I’ll dress you.”

“I couldn’t eat a thing.” I was sick with fear.

“Okay, then let’s do a rundown. My entourage will come and get you, which will consist of my father flanked by his guards and another set of guards for me. You won’t have to talk to my father, so don’t worry. You’ll follow him—and never get ahead of him. The president is always first. He’ll take the elevator with his guards, and you’ll wait for the next. The elevator will come back for you. The only time you’ll be in my father’s company is in the downstairs elevator lobby. That’s where the first set of cameras will be. My father and I are supposed to pose for the cameras at that point and then he’ll be taken away to his seat by the guards. Once he’s seated, the bride will begin her walk to the altar. You’ll be on the second floor and will have to walk down the grand staircase. Once you reach the bottom of the stairs, just follow the white carpet all the way up to the altar. Jack will be there waiting for you. Once you’re there, our spiritual leader will bless the bride and groom and then ask you to commit to each other. The answer is yes”—Leisel smiled at me—“but say it low. The leader won’t be suspicious of a nervous bride. When you’re done, you’ll be taken into the back room to register the marriage. That’s when I’ll meet you and change back into my wedding dress.”

It all sounded easy enough, but I still wasn’t feeling very confident. Anything could go wrong. My only safety net was that the president was in on the plan. Still, if someone noticed I wasn’t Leisel, what then? Would the president come to the aid of an urchin in front of the entire Dome? Somehow I doubted it. I had to keep myself focused on why I was doing this: to save Summer from being punished for stealing food. To give everyone in the Pit hope for a better future. I tried to take some comfort from that knowledge and managed to calm down a little.

Leisel chatted away happily to me as she fitted the bulletproof vest to my skinny frame. It was flexible enough to show my small bosom, but she decided to make me bigger by stuffing socks down my front. She pushed the mounds this way and that until she was satisfied. Then she eased the dress over my head. The pins were still there, but she was careful not to stick me, and the vest protected me as well. It seemed to take forever for her to do up the diamond buttons in the back and then put on the veil. She fixed it to my wig and pulled a layer of tulle down over my face.

“There!” she said.

She spun me around so I faced the full-length mirror. I looked like I had just walked off the pages of a bridal magazine.

“I don’t look anything like myself,” I said, relieved.

“No one will know it’s not me. I can’t even tell.”

Someone knocked on the door, and my heart lurched. It was time.

“Don’t be afraid. I love you for this,” Leisel said. She gave me one last hug and hurried into her bedroom to get out of sight.

I took a deep breath and walked to the door on shaking legs. Two guards stood there waiting for me, one of them with flowers in his hand. He held the flowers out to me, and I accepted them, trembling. Leisel had never mentioned the flowers. I didn’t know I would have to hold anything.

I stepped out into the hall. The large door I had come through with Jack just a few hours ago stood wide open now, and I could see the president and his men waiting by the elevator. I began my walk, the walk that would eventually take me all the way to the altar. One of my guards was ahead of me, one behind. Before I could reach the end of the hall, I heard the elevator doors open and the president disappeared into it. I was relieved to see him go.

We stepped into the elevator lobby and waited for the elevator to return. I felt like a criminal standing there with the guards. Couldn’t they tell I wasn’t Leisel? Hadn’t they noticed how much my bouquet was shaking? I was glad when the elevator doors opened, and I could move again. One guard went in first and I followed. The train on the dress was long and cumbersome, but the second guard picked it up and carried it into the elevator with him. He pressed the button for level two, and the doors closed.

I felt trapped in such a small space with guards on either side of me. I could hear my own laboured breathing and tried to steady it, but only made it worse. Now I was afraid of hyperventilating. The sensation of the elevator descending wasn’t helping my stomach either. I kept my eyes fixed on the seam of the doors and tried to will my body to relax. It didn’t work. Then the doors opened on a scene of pandemonium.

Bright lights were pointed directly in my face, and I felt my eyes rolling into the back of my head. My eyes were sensitive enough to the brighter light in the Dome without having lights aimed directly at me. People were shouting questions at me. A few members of the media were clapping at my arrival. Everyone wanted to know about my dress.

The president came to stand beside me and placed his hand on the small of my back. It took every bit of my will power not to jump or scream at his touch. I tried to remember that he knew about the plan and trust that he wouldn’t deliberately expose me. So mutely I stood next to him with the cameras pointed at us. He answered a few questions. Somewhere in the distance, I heard music begin to play, and his guards stepped forward to escort him to his seat. Some of the cameras followed the president, but most stayed focused on me.

Then it was time to make my way to the altar. My guards escorted me from the safety of the elevator lobby to the top of the grand staircase but left my side before I came into view of the public. I was on my own from there. As I came to stand at the top of the staircase, the music changed and the guests all stood. I began my descent, and a few people clapped. Others gasped. The cameras were everywhere. I expected someone to yell out that I was an imposter at any moment. And then I remembered why Leisel wanted me to take her place. An assassin might have me in his sights.

I reached the bottom of the stairs without falling, being shot, or getting recognized. The white carpet Leisel mentioned stretched all the way to the altar. Red flower petals were scattered on it—I didn’t remember Leisel mentioning these. Was I supposed to avoid stepping on them? I hoped not. I had enough on my mind.

As I walked down the aisle, a few people softly called Leisel’s name, but I refused to make eye contact with them. Instead, I turned my gaze toward the altar to see how far I had left to go. A huge television screen behind the altar showed live coverage of the bride walking down the aisle. I was so shocked to see myself on television that I almost stumbled, but I also realized with some relief that it was impossible to tell it wasn’t Leisel under all that white fabric and tulle.

I looked for Jack just as Leisel told me to but could only find an official looking military officer standing by the altar. I wondered why he was there. Leisel hadn’t said anything about the military being present. Had I been discovered? My legs weakened at the thought. But then, all at once, I realized that the man in uniform was Jack Kenner. He looked so official that it scared me. My body began to recover from the shock of thinking I had been caught. I stayed focused on closing the distance between the altar and me. It seemed to take an eternity, but then I was finally standing beside Jack with my back to the crowd.

The music stopped, and the room became utterly quiet. My breathing was still laboured, and I was sure everyone could hear me.

“Who here gives permission for this young couple to be joined?” the spiritual leader asked the congregation.

President Holt stood up. “I do.”

“We do,” another couple said as well. I assumed they were Jack’s parents.

With permission granted, the spiritual leader began his blessing. I wished I could focus on what he was saying. I wished I had the presence of mind to understand every word. But I couldn’t. I was too busy trying to stop my hands from shaking. My legs were beginning to feel weak again, too.

“Leisel, my darling,” Jack said gently. Someone was standing beside me with her hand out. “The flowers,” he whispered.

I handed the flowers to the woman. I was afraid of dropping them anyway. Jack took my left hand, and the spiritual leader began to speak again. Jack gave me an almost imperceptible nod, and for a moment I stared blankly at him. Then I remembered Leisel had told me to say yes.

“Yes,” I said.

The crowd gave a collective sigh. I must have done it right. The leader droned on.

“Yes,” Jack said in a loud and clear voice.

More sighs from the crowd.

The spiritual leader went to stand behind the altar. He held a small shiny object up in the air and began another blessing. He placed the object on an open book and made the sign of a cross above it, then returned to us and handed the object to Jack. It turned out to be a ring with a large diamond in the centre. Leisel hadn’t mentioned a ring.

Jack took it from him and placed the ring just on the tip of my finger. I could tell it was going to be too big. The leader began to read from a book, and Jack repeated everything he said word for word. Now I was worried there was a ring for Jack, too, and I was going to have to repeat everything the leader said. I would be caught for sure. Jack slipped the ring onto my finger, and as I thought, it was far too big. I curled my finger under to hold it in place.

Jack continued to hold my hand and then the leader wrapped some kind of holy cloth around our joined hands. I tried to keep my hands steady and my eyes downcast. The leader was so close to us that I was sure he must be able to see I wasn’t Leisel.

Then it was done. The cloth was taken away. The crowd was clapping for us. Jack held his elbow out toward me. This time I understood to take it, so I wrapped my hand around his arm, and we began the walk to the registry room.

I was almost home!

The cameras followed our slow progression to the registry room, and I expected them to stop when we walked through the door, but they kept coming in. Someone had made a mistake. I was sure they would be asked to leave. I glanced at Jack. He looked confused, too, but he remained calm. He just kept walking toward the table where an ordinary scanner had been set up and decorated with flowers.

I almost fainted when I saw President Holt and his guards come in behind us; and then Jack’s parents, followed by the spiritual leader. How could Leisel and I switch with all these people here? Did she forget to tell them this was supposed to be a private moment? Jack’s arm tightened under my grip. Sweat was forming on his upper lip. He raked his free hand through his hair. He always seemed to do that when he was frustrated.

“Ladies first.” The spiritual leader held out his hand for mine.

I knew the minute my hand was passed over the scanner, the machine would turn red and sound an alarm. I was not Leisel. I looked desperately around the room, hoping to see Leisel, but there was no sign of her.

“Miss Holt… er, excuse me, Mrs. Kenner.” The leader smiled. A few people chuckled. “Your hand, please.”

This time he didn’t wait for me to give him my hand. He picked it up and waved it in front of the scanner.

It beeped, and lit up green.

It took a few moments for the realization to penetrate my numbed brain that a green light came on.

The leader held out his hand toward Jack. “Mr. Kenner.”

All the color had drained out of Jack’s face. His jaw was tightly clenched, but he gave the leader his hand. The scanner beeped, and the green light went on. The small group in the room was elated. Everyone clapped and seemed to surge toward us to offer their congratulations.

“You haven’t kissed the bride yet,” said Jack’s mother.

Jack looked down at me, his eyes wide. He would have to remove my veil to kiss me. I wanted the floor to open up and suck me back down into the Pit. But somewhere in the distance, voices were raised in alarm. Something was happening.

Before I could make sense of anything, Leisel burst into the room—bruised and with torn clothes. Tears streamed down her face.

“Daddy, help me!” she screamed through tears. She clutched at her father’s arm then crumpled to the floor. “You have to arrest them!”

She pointed directly at us.

Chapter Nine

I stared dumbfounded at Leisel’s crumpled figure on the floor. Her hands covered her face, and she appeared to be inconsolable. Her face was bruised, and I wondered what had happened. Did the assassin find out about the switch? Did he find her?

“Leisel!” Jack said. “What are you doing?” He looked stunned.

President Holt shot Jack a deadly look. The threat was obvious. Jack said nothing more.

Everyone in the room was looking from Leisel to me. Guards grabbed Jack and me, twisted our arms behind our backs, and cuffed us. Jack’s mother walked up to me and ripped off my veil, taking the wig with it. I was exposed.

The anger on her face transformed into an expression of shocked disgust when she saw my urchin eyes. “Who the hell is this?”

I was too frightened to speak. Would Leisel stand up for me? Would the president?

Leisel wailed, and lowered her hands to point at us again. “Daddy! They hurt me! Jack decided that he doesn’t love me anymore, and that he wants her. So he hit me and put me in a closet.” She was sobbing so hard she couldn’t go on. She buried her face in her hands once more. I was finally realizing that Leisel had said they hurt me. I certainly didn’t give her the bruise, so why was she including me in the blame?

“Someone get a doctor!” The president yelled into the crowd. “My Leisel is hurt. Get a doctor!” He looked from one person to another with wild eyes. Finally, someone ran out of the room.

“Jack! What is going on?” his mother asked, her tone accusatory.

“It’s not what it looks like, Mom. She planned this whole thing!” He gestured toward Leisel.

“He’s lying!” Leisel said. “He’s been hiding that…that… urchin in his room for days—ever since his bachelor party. Remember, Daddy, I went to the party? Jack and I made plans that night to be together even though I knew it was wrong. I shouldn’t have planned to meet him when we weren’t even married. But when I went to his apartment that night, he sent me away. I thought he was up to something, and then… this morning…” Leisel broke down sobbing again.

“Take a deep breath, my baby, and tell me what he did.”

“He hit me! He told me he didn’t love me and never has. He said he loved that urchin girl. So he hit me and… I don’t remember much after that. I woke up in the closet and couldn’t get out. He’d put a chair up against the door, but I just kept jiggling the door until it finally opened and then I came straight here.” Leisel choked, sobbed, and gasped throughout her little speech.

“Leisel, you lying little b—” Jack began, but his mother slapped him across his face, cutting off the rest of his words.

His mouth gaped open and his eyes grew wide. He stared at his mother as an angry red welt began to appear along his cheek.

“How could you, Jack? How could you do this to us? To her!”

“Mom, I swear to you! I’m the one being betrayed.” Anyone could hear the passionate sincerity in Jack’s words. They came from somewhere deep inside him. “It wasn’t my idea. She gave me no choice.”

Tears were welling up in his eyes as he looked at his parents. I was stunned to see this side of Jack Kenner. He no longer resembled the powerful man who would one day become president. Now he looked like a boy appealing to his parents for help.

“I thought you loved me, but you were just using me,” Leisel said through her sobs. Then she turned to her father and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. “Daddy, he told me he planned on making changes in the Dome once he becomes president. He said he wanted to change everything! He even wants to break the treaty with the urchins and stop the Cull. I told him it would never work!”

I tried to make sense of what she was saying. She’d told me she wanted those changes, too. She’d told me she wanted to make the Dome a better place to live. I understood then that she’d manipulated me into doing what she wanted. I’d played her game unknowingly.

“Treason!” the president said, his lips tight. “You’re telling me he spoke treason to you?”

“Yes, Daddy. I don’t think he ever loved me. I think he just wanted to be president.”

Holt slowly got up and walked toward Jack, his eyes never leaving Jack’s face. I was afraid that this might be it for us, or at least for Jack. The president looked mad enough to kill. I wished I could move my terrified limbs. I wished I were brave enough to turn to the cameras and tell my dad I loved him. Tell Reyes I was sorry. Tell Summer to take care of them both for me. But all I could do was watch the president come closer.

“The fabric of our nation was founded on democracy and freedom for all, and you would seek to destroy that and replace it with communism?” His face was red and his eyes looked wild. “Who do you think destroyed our nation and sent us into this Dome? Who do you think sent the bombs? Communists!” His entire body was shaking with anger. Spittle flew out of his mouth and ran down his chin. His face was completely red. He looked insane. Then he glanced at one of the cameras out of the corner of his eye, and his disposition changed slightly. He smoothed back his hair and straightened his well-decorated military tunic.

“Apparently, I have been so busy worrying about unseen enemies outside the Dome that I didn’t notice the enemies we have inside. You, Jack Kenner, will be put on trial for treason. If you are found guilty, you will be executed according to our laws. And if you are found guilty, I fully intend to hunt down all of your supporters.” The president gave Jack’s parents a threatening look.

Three armed Domers rushed into the room, adding even more chaos to the already dramatic scene. The media people had to scramble to get out of their way.

“Mr. President, we need to get you out of here, sir. There’s a riot starting in the Pit,” said one of the Domers.

At this news, the president dragged his eyes away from Jack and looked at me for the first time. His look was still murderous, but there was something else, too. Something in the way he was clenching his jaw and drawing his lips into a sneer made me think he hated me the most.

“Get Leisel to safety,” the president said to the guards. Then he turned his attention to the camera and looked directly into it. “Mobilize the guards and lock down the Pit. If the urchins persist in their little demonstration, shut off their ventilation system until they comply.” The president turned back to us. “This is not the first time I’ve regretted the fact that we don’t have a prison inside the Dome. Remand them to Jack’s apartment and call the council for an emergency meeting.” With that he strode out of the room with his security entourage surrounding him.

The Domer behind me tightened my cuffs and shoved me back out into the main reception area. The guests were going crazy. Everyone had seen what just went on in the registry room on the giant television behind the altar, and now we were being marched out in front of them for real. The guard behind me kept shoving me forward, but with every other step he trampled on the train of the dress, impeding my progress. At one point, I heard the dress rip and my first inclination was to worry that I might be punished for damaging it. But then I remembered I was doomed anyway. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be killed for what I had done. And somehow I found solace in the thought that I would never have to worry about ruining a uniform ever again.

Jack fought the guards every inch of the way. He was obviously angry, and I didn’t blame him. The woman he thought loved him had just betrayed him, and if Leisel was able to convince everyone of his treason, then he was every bit as doomed as I was.

We were thrown into an elevator together with a few guards, our hands still cuffed behind our backs. I couldn’t help but wonder why they were treating us so nicely. If we’d been in the Pit, we would have been beaten to death by now. But neither of us had been hit even once.

When the elevator doors opened, the guards shoved us out. The dress kept dragging me down. For something that looked as light as air, it was turning out to be a chain around my ankles.

At last, we arrived at Jack’s apartment and the guards threw us inside roughly. One guard stepped in and unlocked our cuffs, and then left.

As soon as we were alone, Jack turned on me. “Did you know about this?”

His fists were clenched at his sides, and I could feel his anger rolling off him. As I stood under his accusing gaze, it occurred to me that this was the first time anyone had spoken to me since the whole fiasco began. All morning, people had been talking all around me, but no one had actually spoken to me. So far I had been an outsider—a participant in the event, but not actually a prominent player. I realized I liked the anonymity. It made my role less important. I didn’t want Jack to take away that small shred of comfort. I didn’t want him to talk to me. So I walked into his bedroom and returned to my safe little spot on the floor beside the bed.

He didn’t follow me, for which I was grateful. The dress still felt like a dead weight wrapped around my legs, so I gathered it up and tucked the train behind my back. It made a nice cushion against the hard wall. I leaned back on it, smoothing out the front of the skirt. I wondered if they would give me something else to wear when they executed me or if I would have to die in this dress. I wished I had my own clothes. If I was going to die, I wanted it to be as me and not as some wannabe bourge.

I hadn’t thought too much about Reyes until now. I wondered if he had seen the wedding. Of course he had. The entire Dome saw it. I tried to imagine what it must have looked like on television. Could he tell the wedding was a sham? Or did he think that I betrayed him? I tried to remember how much Summer knew before we were separated. She would have told Reyes that I went with Leisel, but then I never returned to the Pit. It must have been a shock to see me on television standing where Leisel should’ve been beside Jack Kenner.

I heard Jack get off the sofa and come into the bedroom. How long had we been in the apartment? An hour? More? I sank lower on the floor, hoping he wouldn’t see me. No luck. He walked around the bed and sat on the floor next to me.

“We have about thirty minutes of privacy,” he said.

“I don’t understand. What happens in thirty minutes?” I asked.

Jack held up a pocket-sized computer tablet. “I was eight years old the first time I hacked into the mainframe. There are hidden cameras everywhere, even in this room. Usually they’re not turned on in private homes, but I’m guessing they’ve turned on mine now. Anyway, I learned a long time ago how to super-impose a different feed over what the camera was supposed to be recording. That’s how I got us to Leisel’s apartment this morning without being caught. Right now, if anyone is watching or listening, they’ll see us as we were thirty minutes ago, not as we are now. Privacy.”

“Why do we need privacy?”

“Because I want to know if you’re in on this with Leisel or not.”

His clear blue eyes that I had once thought beautiful seemed cold and calculating. I had a sudden urge to lean forward and claw those eyes out. “The only reason I’m facing certain death is because I got caught between two crazy bourge bent on destroying each other. And you want to know if this is my fault?” My anger was so intense that I didn’t care who he was or whether he had any power left.

“I’m sorry.” He roughly pulled a hand through his hair. “If you weren’t in on it with her, then you have every reason to be upset.” He studied me with his blue eyes, and I leaned farther back against the wall, hoping to somehow evade them. I didn’t trust him. “I want you to know that I’ve never lied to you. Your presence in all of this was… unexpected. I completely misread Leisel. I thought I had her under control.”

“What? Had her under control? That’s not exactly a declaration of love.”

“I never loved Leisel,” he said matter-of-factly.

“So she was right? You were just marrying her so you could become president?”

“Yeah, I was.” Jack laughed. “But it sounds so seedy when you say it.”

“Were you the one that gave her the bruise? Did you lock her in the closet after I left?” I’d been thinking it was Leisel who betrayed Jack, but now…

“No!” Jack shook his head. “I didn’t touch her. I honestly don’t know who did that to her. I just want you to know Leisel is the one who betrayed you, not me. I think she planned the whole thing out the moment she met you. You’re both the same height.”

“I’m confused. Why do you care if I believe you betrayed me or not? Why are you so intent on making sure I know Leisel is the guilty one? You’re not exactly innocent in all of this.”

“I don’t know. Last confession? Unfortunately neither one of us has much longer to live.” He finally dropped his gaze and looked at my hand resting in my lap. I still had on the ring. It looked shiny against the white dress. A sad look came over his face. “I’m guilty of a lot of things, but being a traitor isn’t one of them. The true traitor is Damien Holt.”

“What does President Holt have to do with this? I thought this was between you and Leisel.” I instantly regretted my question. I really didn’t care. Whatever issues there were between Jack and the president were for them to sort out. I was already dealing with the backlash of getting caught between two bourge. I had learned my lesson.

“When Leisel told you I wanted change in the Dome, she wasn’t lying. I talked about it with her a little to see how she would react, but she doesn’t know the entire story. You see, my family heads up a secret organization called Liberty. Our goal is to restore democracy to our government.”

“Restore it? But we have a democratic government.”

“No, we don’t. Holt and his buddies have revised our history so much that most people don’t know the truth. But the Kenners know the truth. We have evidence.”

“What truth? What evidence?” My curiosity was aroused despite my desire to stay out of bourge politics. But if I was going to be executed because of a secret organization trying to take control of the Dome, I wanted to at least know who they were.

“Where do I begin? Well… probably at the beginning of the Dome’s history.” He gave me a roguish smile. The smile made him almost seem human, but I wished he would change out of his military uniform. He looked like someone I should fear. “My great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather—give or take a few greats—was Theodore Kenner, Vice President of the United States before the bombs. He entered the Dome as part of President Taylor’s entourage when the bombs were launched. General Edward Holt was also part of that entourage.” Jack looked at me closely when he said “general.”

I couldn’t remember ever hearing about a President Taylor, except for the article I had read in one of Jack’s magazines. The Holts had always held the presidency in the Dome.

“So the Holt family wasn’t in line for the presidency?”

Jack shifted, bringing one of his legs within touching distance of me. I bent my knees and hugged them close to my chest, steering clear of any contact. He didn’t seem to notice.

“Actually, in a democratic government there’s no such thing as being in line for the presidency. In a democracy, the people choose a leader through an election process and, once elected, the leader is expected to represent the people. But the Holts don’t operate that way. What we have under the Holt regime is a dictatorship, which gets passed along from generation to generation through the males in that family.”

“How did General Holt become president then? Was he elected?”

“No. My family has evidence that implicates Edward Holt in the murder of President Taylor and her husband.” He smiled at my look of surprise. There had never been a female president in the Dome. “Vice President Kenner kept a written journal and video clips of his life in the Dome, which the Kenner family has kept all these years. Every Kenner has read the journal and watched the videos, and we continue to share them with others who want to know the truth. The video that made the most impact on me shows civilians from the valley climbing up the mountain to the open hangar doors where military vehicles were still coming into the Dome. The civilians tried to fight their way in, but soldiers were pushing them back and used machine guns to stop them. General Holt ordered the soldiers to fire, but President Taylor called a stop to it. In the video, you can see bodies everywhere, rivers of blood flowing down the mountain, but still the people kept coming to the Dome. They were desperate to get to safety.” Jack paused for a moment, his eyes bright with unshed tears. “No one with a soul could turn those people away, and President Taylor didn’t. She told the guards to let them through.